The Montessori Great Lesson Page

My name is Barbara Dubinsky. I have been involved in the Montessori community for 30 years, through my own children, as an assistant, administrator, Lower Elementary teacher and now as a trainer. Fourteen years ago, I joined the movement of Montessori into the public schools - a most exciting expansion. I teach at a magnet school in Charlotte, NC. It is both challenging and ever so rewarding at the same time. Our school is given much freedom to do what we need to do as Montessorians; we have fought fiercely to have this freedom and have proven that what we do is the best system for children. For many years, as a member of the Montessori Educational Listserv ( listserv@aol.com - write Subscribe Montessori-L in the body of the message) I saw many questions about the Great Lessons themselves and how to keep the work of the Great Lessons active in the class. This year I have finally pulled together all my work into four albums.

The Five Great Lessons from Montessori for EveryoneThe Great Lessons are an important and unique part of the Montessori curriculum. These lessons are bold, exciting, and are designed to awaken a child's imagination and curiosity. The child should be struck with the wonder of creation, thrilled with new ideas, and awed by the inventiveness and innovation that is part of the human spirit. The Five Great Lessons are traditionally presented in lower elementary (grades 1-3), and are presented every year so that children see them more than one time. Unlike the 3-6 environment, where the child is introduced first to "small" ideas that gradually widen into larger concepts, the elementary child is introduced right away to large concepts - the largest of all being the beginning of the universe.

Free Montessori Video Lessons OnlineIf you’re a parent or teacher who hasn’t had Montessori teacher training but would like to use Montessori activities, you’ll find online videos to be extremely helpful. It’s much easier to feel confident giving Montessori presentations when you’ve seen someone present a Montessori activity, even if it is on YouTube rather than in person. There are some fabulous Montessori videos available for free online.How Google's Larry Page became a responsible entrepreneurOur planet's natural systems are under siege, whole communities are filing for bankruptcy, and the ​disparity between rich and poor has widened. These reasons, among others, are why we need entrepreneurs who challenge the world to rethink assumptions about how business “should” be done. These kinds of leaders can make sustainable the status quo. My​ book, The Responsible Entrepreneur, calls upon entrepreneurs and businesses to step up their game.

First Day of SchoolOur first day went very well- I was surprised by the enthusiasm level. Hopefully the rest of the year will follow suit! Reagan was particularly excited about learning cursive and Latin. After our morning prayers we got things started by making name tags. This is how we started last year and it is a fun little activity- each child writes their name as best as they can on a strip of cardstock then they decorate with stickers. Afterwards I laminate them and then the younger ones have something to copy when writing their names.Montessori, why not?I choose a Montes­sori school for my son al­most as an act of faith. At that time my knowl­edge of the method was null, be­sides hav­ing heard of small chairs and col­ored beads. But see­ing my son happy day af­ter day en­cour­aged me to study and deepen the Montes­sori’s ideas. What I had dis­cov­ered as­ton­ished me as a fa­ther and as a sci­en­tist. As a fa­ther, I found how chil­dren are re­ally re­spected and pre­pared for the fu­ture. As a sci­en­tist, I found solid sci­en­tific foun­da­tions for every­thing Maria Montes­sori pro­posed.

The Clock Of Eras One way to Visualize Geologic TimeThe Clock of Eras is a graphic aid to help us visualize geologic time. It is nearly impossible for the human mind to comprehend the amount of time that it has taken for the Earth to develop to its present state, yet we try to imagine each stage of its unfolding and the time that passed during each phase of development. The Clock of Eras uses the analogy of a circular clock to represent the development of our planet in geologic time.

Walk through the Continents - Print Maps Large and Small - FreePrint free maps large or small; from 1 page to almost 7 feet across; PC or Mac. For classroom and student use. MegaMaps requires Adobe Flash. Free online software—no downloading or installation. Print out maps in a variety of sizes, from a single sheet of paper to a map almost 7 feet across, using an ordinary printer.

Great Lessons ResourcesOne of the questions I had when I was first considering homeschooling was how I would know what to teach and when to teach it. I wanted something that would give me an outline of topics to cover so we that we wouldn't be stuck learning about Ancient Egypt for four years straight (which is probably what would happen if I followed my boys interests!). I wanted something that would give my children the "big picture" of all the myriad topics of study that exist. I realized that (as tempting as it sounds) I could not fill my childrens heads with the complete scope of human knowledge, instead I should aim to give them a taste of the possibilities and let them pursue their particular interests in more depth.